Hosono at IAEA: Cold Shutdown by the Year-End, Invite IAEA Experts on Decontamination

Whatever you say, Mr. Hosono. (Do you know where the corium is, by the way?)

Yomiuri Shinbun (9/20/2011) reports:

細野原発相は１９日、ウィーンで開幕した国際原子力機関（ＩＡＥＡ）の年次総会で演説し、東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故収束に向けた工程表について、原子炉を冷温停止状態とする「ステップ２」の達成期限をこれまでの「来年１月中旬」から「年内」に前倒しする考えを表明した。

Goshi Hosono, Minister in charge of nuclear accident, gave a speech at the annual meeting of IAEA in Vienna, Austria on September 19, and said his government was planning to achieve the "step 2" of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant "Roadmap" - cold shutdown of the reactors - by the end of this year instead of by the middle of January next year.

　また、放射性物質の除染に関する国際的知見を得るため、１０月にＩＡＥＡ除染調査団を受け入れる方針を明らかにした。

He also announced the plan to receive the decontamination survey team from IAEA in October, in order to get their international expertise and knowledge about decontamination.

　細野氏は演説で「事故の状況は着実に収束に向かっている。『ステップ２』の予定を早めて年内をめどに達成すべく、全力を挙げて取り組む」と語った。

Mr. Hosono said in the address, "The accident is steadily winding down. We will be doing our best to achieve the "step 2" by the end of this year, ahead of schedule".

　工程表では、原子炉が安定的に停止する冷温停止状態の実現を「ステップ２」の条件として位置づけ、１０月中旬から来年１月中旬までに達成するとしてきた。

According to the "roadmap", the achievement of cold shutdown is set as the condition for the completion of the "step 2", where the reactors are stopped in a stable manner. It is to be achieved sometime between mid October and mid January next year.

Does IAEA have decontamination experts?

So the Japanese government is slowly changing the definition of "cold shutdown". The indicator of "cold shutdown" used to be the temperature of the RPV below 100 degrees Celsius, but now it seems they have added "in a stable manner". The temperatures of the RPVs of Reactor 1 and 3 measure less than 100 degrees these days, but "cold shutdown" is not declared.

So the charade goes on, trying to achieve "cold shutdown" of what remains of a Reactor Pressure Vessel, probably long devoid of the molten jumble of fuel rods, control rods and everything else inside (corium). Even TEPCO admitted they are not 100% sure what they are measuring as temperature, pressure, and water level is accurate.

Since he's in Vienna, Hosono may not know that TEPCO has admitted to several hundred tonnes of groundwater leaking into the basements of the reactor buildings and turbine buildings every day. I guess he can take the line from ex-chief Cabinet Secretary Edano (and current head of the Ministry of Economy and Trade) and say "Not an immediate problem". It worked for Edano.

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